While volunteering at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (read more here and here), we’ve had the opportunity to explore the variety of the Mojave desert region. Last week we ventured outside of Lake Mead to see two of southern Nevada’s state parks. The desert continues to amaze us with its exotic landscapes and breathtaking views.
Valley of Fire State Park:
The oldest and largest state park in Nevada, Valley of Fire is also one of the most beautiful. The park derives its name from the red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago. These stunning formations illuminate the valley, especially at sunset, and can make it look as though it’s on fire.
Located just north of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the park has over 40,000 acres of beauty to explore. There are many hiking trails and overlook spots where you can see the impressive red and pink sandstone rocks. We spent two days here and still didn’t see it all.
We felt very fortunate to have several bighorn sheep sightings during our time in the park. The desert bighorn sheep is Nevada’s state animal and is the largest animal that lives in the deserts of North America. Due to their unique concave elastic hooves, bighorn are able to climb the steep, rocky terrain with speed and agility.
In one area of the park called Atlatl Rock (try saying that fast 3 times!), you can see numerous petroglyphs on the sides of the canyon walls. These ancient drawings were done by Native American cultures of the area and have existed for over 4,000 years. The drawings are done on the desert varnish, a blackish mineral coating deposited on the rocks from evaporating moisture.
The highlight of this visit for me was our hike out to the Fire Wave. It’s a fairly easy 2-mile round trip hike to these multi-colored swirls of sandstone. You can really see the geologic changes that happened in this area from the wave-like patterns in the rock. These spiraling and twisting ribbons of color were like nothing we had ever seen!
Cathedral Gorge State Park:
Next we ventured about 3 hours northeast of Lake Mead to visit Cathedral Gorge State Park — it was well worth the drive! This park became one of Nevada’s first four state parks in 1935 and is located near the small town of Panaca. A dramatic landscape of eroded soft bentonite clay covers more than 1600 acres and has thousands of spectacular geologic formations.
The formations, made of silt, clay and volcanic ash, are the remnants of the ancient lake bed that once covered this area. The sand-like structures look somewhat fragile, but are really very solid. We enjoyed exploring in and around them all!
The slot canyons found at Cathedral Gorge are narrow and deep, with miles of trails that wind in, around, and through this striking landscape. There are lots of paths but no signs, so don’t get lost inside!
Erosion has carved dramatic and unique patterns in the clay making cathedral-like spires, which is how the park got its name. The view here is so unique that you almost feel like you are on another planet!
While this park is smaller than most, there are four different hiking trails. Eagle Point trail and Miller Point trail both meet up at an elevated overlook called Miller Point, which looks back at the slot canyons below.
Valley of Fire and Cathedral Gorge state parks are definitely worth a visit. They both have visitor centers, hiking trails, campgrounds, and magnificent views. Cathedral Gorge was much less crowded than Valley of Fire, probably due to its distance from Las Vegas. Either one will provide you with stunning vistas that will make it hard to put your camera down!
Another wonderful adventure. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Jacki. We are in limbo here right now with all the closures and cancellations. Not sure when or where our next adventure will be, but social distancing is pretty easy in an RV at least!
This country is full of amazing sites. Nevada is a state, I still need to get too. Thanks for sharing how beautiful it is.
Hi Doug–thanks for following along with us. We have been surprised as well by all of Nevada’s beauty. I didn’t know that it was the most mountainous state in the contiguous United States!
Wow! I just love desert landscapes. The geology is so interesting and the rock formations are incredibly beautiful!
Hi Alice–thanks for following along with us. As a former science teacher, I love all of the geology too! Right now the desert is beginning to bloom and the colors are so beautiful.
Very cool stuff! WOW such views.
I know, right?! The natural beauty of this area is just amazing!
It’s something how the desert can be so pretty. Love all the pictures and seeing and hearing about your travels.
You are so right–I never knew how colorful and pretty the desert could be!